Because I Could Not Stop For Death
by Rochelle B
Summary: Sirius is dead, the Malfoys want Grimmauld Place and death is waiting at Remus door. But Remus is given a spark of hope: a path to Hades. He's going to get his mate back, no matter the risks.
1. Zero: The Watcher

Because I Could Not Stop For Death

I don't own the vast majority of the characters used herein. Sirius Lupin, Chase Pryce, and William Rite, however, are mine.

Author: Rochelle B, with a little aid from Solis Starchild aka Aloysha

Series: The Pack.

Rating: Pg-13, maybe R

Timeline: Post 'OotP'. Remus is 38 (but, uh, don't say it out loud.) Sirius is 37, Harry is 15, and Siri is 14. Everyone else falls into place from there.

Pairings: Remus Lupin/Sirius Black. Others as the story progresses.

Summery: Remus is stressed. Sirius is gone, his son ran away, and the Malfoys want Grimmauld Place. Then Remus is given a spark of hope, and a way to Hades, and decides to get his mate back no matter what.

Notes: You may want to read "Never Tell", "Should Have Been", and maybe "You're the Only One I See' before you get into this. (YtOOIS is really just a long interlude thing, most of which will be gone over in this story. Plus it's not done…) "Puppets" may also be helpful reading, if you're interested in the Snape clan at all, otherwise continue on.

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Prelude: The Watcher  
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"I can't send you back." The man said finally, glowing red eyes regarding him from behind a curtain of white hair. He was a big man, much taller than Sirius, and solidly built. He looked bored, as if he had other things he'd much rather be doing.

To be blunt Sirius didn't give a damn what else he thought he had to be doing.

"Why the hell not?" The man arched an eyebrow, as if amused. Then again the God of Death probably didn't get a lot of this as most people probably cowered and whimpered. Sirius wasn't much for those types of activities.

"Sirius-"

"What? You're the only who said I didn't belong here, so why the hell can't he send me back?"

Koori, the God of Lost Souls, twitched. "Because you're bloody well dead aren't you, you goddamn mother fucking idiot! Just because you weren't slated to die doesn't make you any less dead, understand? Stop being such an asshole! It's not like we made you fall through that infernal contraption or made your godson a moron! I mean…shit, but that kid is stupid."

His violet eyes blazed for a moment, then he coughed and color filled his pale cheeks. Sirius just blinked. "Sorry. I'm a touch off balance. Lord Hades, my outburst-"

"Quite all right." Hades smiled almost fondly. Sirius shivered, thinking such an expression didn't belong on a man who looked so…well, fearsome. "I understand. Losing three of your favorite power sources at once would put anyone on edge."

The younger god nodded and raked his fingers through his own snow colored hair. He looked no older than Sirius' godson, Harry, but in reality had a few hundred years behind him. And he looked weary, as if he hadn't slept in days.

"You see Mr. Black, you, your mate, and your son, were quite the energy boost for my son. If I could send you back I would."

Sirius looked at the violet-eyed god. "I would have thought the world is full of lost souls."

"Lost souls I need to guide to their proper place in life." Koori's voice was hoarse suddenly. He put a hand to his head and sighed. "They don't give me power, they drain it. But you…you're selfless. You wish to guide people, help them. That gives me power. But I've lost you, your mate is withering, and your son has left me."

"Left?"

"He has, unknowingly, given his heart to the Goddess of Strife and Pain. Eris is rather pleased with her new find." Koori's lips twisted. "She hasn't been this happy since Voldemort fell under her sway."

"Siri can't…he's not-"

"He is hurting." Hades said, waving a hand.

Two hourglasses appeared before Sirius. One had a base of cherry wood and a few deep cracks ran through the glass. Golden-brown grains of sand fell through slowly. The amount in the top was much smaller than that in the bottom. The other one was black metal, which reflected the torchlight of the throne room dimly. The sand was a reddish-gold and very little of it rested in the bottom chamber.

"This is your mates time on Earth. As you can see its running out quickly. Funny creatures those werewolves. They can leave for three hundred years on their own, but the moment their mates dies their time is cut down into months."

Sirius reached out and touched the older glass hesitantly, knowing without a doubt who it belonged to; almost afraid he would break it and end Remus' life in that moment. It felt solid in his hands and he could hear a heartbeat pounding in his ears. It was familiar and, in its own way, soothing. He closed his eyes and was willing to swear he could feel the heart beating in time to his own.

"And when he dies your son will demand retribution. In return for the life of the one who took yours he will sell his soul and cause a wave of death unlike any caused by a single person before him." Hades snorted softly. "It'll be quite impressive actually. No one will see it coming. He's quite mild tempered after all."

Sirius eyed the other glass warily. An image of his son, with bright blue eyes, an easy smile and tangled black hair came to mind. He could not picture Siri killing even a fly let alone enough people to impress the God of Death. He found he didn't really want to picture it.

"He's going to kill Bella. For killing me and Remus."

"Not to mention his little friend, the vampire." Hades said and this time an hourglass appeared in his palm. For a moment the pure white thing took Sirius aback, from the sand to the metal that made up its base. Then he noticed the sand was almost run out, even less was in the top chamber than was in Remus'. He held it out and Sirius took it and the cool metal pressed into his hand.

This heartbeat was slow, almost frighteningly so. Chase Pryce was without a doubt the vampire that the god meant. It looked like Death was going to find the teen very soon.

"You can't just let this happen." Sirius said, looking up at the god. "You have to stop this."

"I can't change the fate of mortals." Hades said, shrugging. "But, as I said, you and your family have been a great help to my son so I'll grant you this: You may watch in Koori's pool those you care for until such a time as your mate dies and you both pass into the next world."

"_Watch_?" The word came out as a low hiss. Sirius was tempted to try and strangle the man. How could he tell him the horrible fate of his family only to tell him he had to _watch_ it all take place as if it were some sort of gift. He didn't want to watch it he wanted to fix it.

But Koori had a hand on his shoulder and some kind of warm feeling spread throughout his body from that point. The desire to fight drained away along with everything else in his body. He was very tired all of a sudden.

He, with a sigh, allowed himself to be lead out of the room. The halls were made of black marble, with white and red veins running through them, and the occasional window cut out. Sirius looked out a few and found each one seemed to hold a completely different world. The first held people, thousands of them, screaming in some sort of torment only they could see.

The next held man dressed in what looked like uniforms from various time periods, army uniforms and warriors garb, in a great hall laughing and drinking. The next one he looked into looked like a great fielding, with little cottages dotting the area, with people dressed in white moving about, clearly content.

There were others, but he didn't look at them.

All too quickly Koori was turning into a room and tugging him along. He wasn't sure what he expected, but to step into what seemed to be a scene from a Roman novel wasn't it. Tall white marble pillars stretched to the sky, as did the trees that seemed to go forever in ever direction.

Koori led the way to a cobblestone path between the rows of pillars. Vines of the most…vibrant green Sirius had ever encountered weaved a canopy of sorts above their heads, crisscrossing beautifully and blooming with red, violet, and black blooms.

"This is my temple and forest. Or it was in 100 BC. I imagine Mortals have knocked it down and now have the nerve to wonder why they have no motivation or ambition in life." He let out a sigh. "Mortals don't pay us much mind anymore, knocking down whatever they see fit, putting no thought into how long it took my mother to make the desert bloom like this."

"You're over two thousand years old." Sirius said, wondering if his awe was apparent. Koori turned, eyebrow going up and laughed.

"No way. I'm only 700, still a Godling. I haven't even begun to come into my real power yet. Sure, I send out nice vibes and the occasional burst of motivation, but other than that I'm useless." He chuckled again and turned. "No, my father had this built for me a long time ago. I guess you could say he's been waiting for me a while."

As he spoke he reached out and touched one of the pillars. The ground rumbled then split to revel steps, or what looked like clay. He walked down, a torch appearing in his hand. Sirius followed, looking around. The cave was rather plain, save some crude drawings on the wall. The walls were gray stone, the ground dirt, and dust raised up in little puffs. The light of the torch illuminated it as it drifted back to the ground.

"That's why he likes you. He understands why you're so…loving towards your son. You never thought you'd have a child, and suddenly there he was. He never thought he'd have one, in spite of this temple, and when he had me he was determined to never let me go." He paused, head tilted to the side. "Seriously. I'm a 700 year old virgin. Do you have any idea how depressing that is?"

"Very?"

"Very." The Godling nodded then pressed against a stone slab. It shimmered then vanished, opening the tunnel into a large room. It was bare, save a round pool of water in the center. Koori walked over, waving a hand to both put out his torch and light the hundreds of candles spread about the chamber.

"This is the pool. Just think what you want to see and it'll appear. If you need me call for 'Lady Persephone', she'll tell you how to find me."

He smiled and, with a slight bow, vanished in a spray of black petals. Sirius stared at where he'd been then, shook his head. He was determined to not think about how little sense this made, ending up in the Underworld and making friends with the God of Death and his son.

If he thought about he'd probably lose his mind.

So instead he sat cross-legged by the pool, wondering how exactly this thing worked.

And then it did.

* * *

He was small, just slightly bigger thana wolf cub. He darted through the thick forest, panting harshly, but running none the less. Humans, the smell filled his nose and screamed to him of death and he knew he had to escape.

But it was hard. His front leg was wounded and he was starting to lose the feeling, and he could smell his own blood. If it went numb before he found shelter he could die. He didn't know these woods, didn't even know what part of the country he was in (or if this was even his country. It was all so unfamiliar.) but the humans knew. This was their land and they intended to kill him for invading.

Had he been less focused on flight he would have realized this territory also belonged to another wolf. A big one, who had ruled for quite some time.

There were no sounds around him, as if all of the animals had gone silent in order to watch him being hunted down and killed for stealing a chicken (that he hadn't even gotten…). Not even the trees dared to speak or call out to him as they always did.

It was all deathly silent.

Then he stumbled. He couldn't be blamed; his leg had finally gone numb. He tumbled down the side of a overhang, fur catching on sharp rocks and twigs, hair tangling in leaves and weeds, and by the time he reached the bottom, weak skin slamming onto harsh and unforgiving ground.

A thin human boy hit the ground at the bottom of the overhang. He stared up at the overhang he'd just rolled off of with blurry eyes and groaned. He could dimly hear water and smell dirt and he cursed weak human senses for masking the forest from him.

He heard twigs snapping and snorted, feeling the edges of hysteria creeping in. Blood flowed from his shoulder and he was pretty sure his head was bleeding as well. If they were going to shoot him for being a wolf, being a wolf turned boy was going to get him something nasty, like burning at the stake, he just knew it.

Humans sucked.

Something warm and wet nuzzled his face and he blinked, realizing belatedly that his vision was going gray around the edges. Amber colored eyes stared at him and a tongue lapped over his temple.

He let his eyes slide shut, feeling safe.

'Da.'

* * *

Hades is, obviously, the God of the Underworld. (Not Death, as Death is actually a chick. But Sirius didn't pay attention in Mythology class.) He judges souls after death, deciding which level of Hades they get to go to. I don't recall how many levels there were, but I do remember Tartarus, the Fields, and the Hall of Warriors.

Persephone was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter who was stolen from Earth by Hades and taken to the Underworld, where she became his unwilling bride. She is the Goddess of Spring and Queen of the Underworld.

Koori is the God of Lost Soul, which sounds death related, but is really more about guiding lost mortals to their proper place, providing motivation to achieve. I suppose he could make things grow, like his mother does, if he were so motivated…

Eris is the Goddess of Strife and Discord. Not a nice lady. She's the reason the Trojan War got started, actually…

And I told you all not to get attached to Chase way back and now you know why. That kid is slated for death and his hourglass is just about up.  
Chase: Fucking Brilliant. See if I inspire you to write anything anytime soon.


	2. One: Cere Lupin

Because I Could no Stop for Death

Notes: Probably should have mentioned this before but this story opens a whole new world of werewolves. Different species, different ways of becoming one, the different communities and a whole different world. Literally actually.

The way the system works is that Bitten Werewolves, called Half-Breeds, are the lowest in the ranks. They are usually shunned by Wolven society as outcasts and most don't even know about the Council. Most eventually die from lycanthropic madness which happens when a wolf is deprived of a pack and mate for too long. The need to be with someone often drives them to bite and turn others but the ones they turn usually hate them afterwards. They can, usually, only change at the moon. (Keyword here: Usually.)

Then there are the Natural Wolves which include those born to two werewolves, those born to a werewolf and a human, a werewolf and a magical creature and even a half-breed and any of the aforementioned. As long as you are born with the ability to shift you're considered Natural. This ability can be used at any time. (This would be Siri/Cerberus)

There was more about that in 'You're the Only One I See'.

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Chapter One  
Cerberus Lupin  
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Remus J Lupin was, as most who knew him were already aware, a werewolf. It showed in his amber colored eyes, which were just a little too feral to be totally human, in the way he heard things others didn't hear, smelled things other couldn't…

In the way he was slowly dying.

He twisted the pewter ring around his finger anxiously, noting that already it was starting to fit loosely on his finger. He was wasting away, _Withering_, as it was officially called. When a werewolf lost its mate, it began to die and nothing could stop the process from completing. When Remus had first heard of it, he'd been confused. Why would losing another person make the other person die, no matter what. Even if the living mate wished to live it would die.

But he understood it now. The magic that let werewolves mate wasn't just the usual marriage spell, it was similar to soul bonding or a vampires Claim Mark. It bound the souls together, made them two halves of a whole, two sides of a heart, the same spirit in separate bodies. Without the mate the other was incomplete, not a true being. Without the other side the werewolf simply died.

Faded out of existence. _Withered._

He was withering. It'd take time of course, his wolf was as bound to his son as it was to Sirius. There was no way he'd leave his son parentless anytime soon. He wanted to at the very least see his son graduate. Maybe he was asking too much, but he wanted to be sure his son would be okay, would grow up safely.

He wouldn't allow himself to die just yet.

"Mister Lupin." A soft voice spoke from the doorway of his office.

He found it ironic that the European Werewolf Council had decided to hire him to their ranks. They'd shunned him when he was young because he was a half-breed but now… well he was one of their more valued employees. Councilor in charge of Half Breed Affairs they called it; they were reaching out to the other side of the werewolf myth these days.

"Yes Jean-Marie?" He asked, tilting his head off to the side. The girl was only twenty and freshly out of one of the Wiccan Universities. Most werewolves, while possessing a natural form of magic, were not Wizards and thus had other schools for study. Most Magical creatures attending the Wiccan Universities.

Remus had considered sending his son, but when the boy had started floating cookies behind his back before dinner he'd known it wasn't necessary just yet. Maybe now, however, he should look into it. All of the Universities existed in a different Realm and it'd be the best, none suspicious way to get the boy out of harms path.

When he found the teen of course. Which he would without a doubt do. Eventually. Once he got through all of this work. It wasn't like Siri was incapable of taking care of himself. Young the teen may have been but he was something to be reckoned with. So he needn't feel guilty about putting the search on hold for the time being.

"Master Dumbledore is here to speak to you."

"Tell him I jumped out of a window."

"Now Remus you're beginning to sound like Severus." Albus Dumbledore said as he moved to be seen behind Jean-Marie. He was wearing a periwinkle robe with little white clouds floating over it and his eyes were, like always, twinkling behind their half-moon frames.

"There are worse things in life." Remus said mildly but gestured the man inside.

The office itself was cluttered, full of papers, folders, boxes of the aforementioned and things of that nature. Information on the location of all of the European Wolf Packs, all of the Registered Half-Breed Wolves in Europe, and wedding certificate requests, birth notices, and various petitions that involved humans or other magical creatures.

Being head of the Half-Breed department was proving to be…a challenge.

Of course, the information of the European Packs was for his assignment for the Order. Albus wanted the European Wolf Council to hold a meeting to discuss the war and their allegiances. Remus had been told if he could track down each pack (all one hundred and thirty two of them) and get a yes from their Alpha that the council would be called together in August. And if he couldn't then he was screwed.

He'd found all but five packs.

"Can you bring two cups of tea?"

"Yes Mister Lupin."

He pointed his wand at a stack of folders covering a chair and sent them to his secretary who flashed him a smile then left. He rather liked Jean-Marie. She was quiet, polite and never complained. Not that Remus gave her much work, he preferred to do things on his own… Which may have explained her good attitude.

"I see things are going well." Albus remarked as he sat. "I think you may have found your true calling."

"I'd prefer teaching, but this is a nice alternative." Remus said, reaching up to rub the bridge of his nose underneath his glasses. "So what can I do for you?"

"You need to find your son."

"Oh?" He arched an eyebrow.

It wasn't that he was concerned about his son, but Siri was nothing if not stubborn. Searching him out would only make him run further. No, until Siri was done mourning looking for him would be nothing short of folly.

"Yes. Narcissa Malfoy has petitioned the Ministry for Grimmauld Place and, with Sirius gone, it goes to the closet male blood relative."

"So? The Ministry can't find it."

"It's a spell cast by Sirius' mother. The moment the key is granted to someone at the Ministry, any other spells cast will be broken."

Remus frowned, considering that. "But Narcissa isn't-"

"Draco is very much male and very much a Black." Albus said, eyes serious. "The only people who might also have a claim are Siri, Harry, and yourself-"

"Harry and I aren't blood." Remus pointed out while smiling at Jean-Marie who'd returned with two cups of tea.

"Not to Mrs. Black, but Harry is legally Sirius' child, convict or not. Or I should say your child. And you're Sirius' mate so what is his is yours by Magical Law."

"Then I'll go." Remus said, frowning. "I'm older than Draco and there's no reason to take Harry from his relatives, no matter how awful they are."

"Only I fear that Draco may be the first choice of the key. He is blood, while you and Harry are just bound by magical law to Sirius. If Draco and Siri were unable, or unwilling, I believe it'd pass to one of you."

Remus felt the strange urge to bang his head against the desk, but just nodded wearily instead. "How long do I have to find him?"

"A week."

He cringed. A week. Siri could, quite literally, be anywhere. He's been missing since a week after Sirius' death and with wolf blood flowing through his veins he'd know how to transverse forest and swamp easily, and the appearance of a young dog would mean a family might have picked him up…

But Remus was nothing if not a logical and calm man. He sighed quietly and leaned back in his seat. "Jean-Marie." The young woman poked her head into the room. "Contact Master Pitt. Tell him I have to leave to find my son."

She nodded and was up and gone in an instant. It was common knowledge that his mate had died and that his son had run off. Quite a few of the wolves had offered support and condolences, as well as offers to look after his son when he…was too far gone.

Which were nice, but he'd already written up his will. Siri would be in the care of Severus Snape, because he was the only one Remus (and Sirius) would trust their son with.

The irony was far from lost on him.

"Thank you Remus."

Remus nodded tersely. He decided not to mention that he wasn't doing this for Albus, or the order. He simply had plans to burn Grimmauld place to the ground once the war was over, or to have Siri do it, and they needed to own it if they had any hope of doing so.

"Mister Lupin." Jean-Marie was back. One of her best attributes was being a member of the Mercury Pack of France. They were, according to legend, graced by Hermes with speed no other wolf could match. Remus knew when he told her to do something it'd get done quickly, if nothing else. "Master Pitt said he wishes you luck on your journey."

"Thank you Jean-Marie. I have some papers that must be delivered on my desk if you wouldn't mind?"

"Not at all."

0000000000000000000000

"Yes, I've heard of his father. He's calling for the packs to gather for the war." Jean was the Alpha of his pack; the Mercury Pack. He'd found the wolf cub wandering his forest, exhausted and hungry and bleeding from the head a few days before.

It wasn't until now he'd gotten a chance to ask Marie, his mate and wife, about his progress.

"And your daughter works for him in the Council." Marie said, rolling her eyes at him. "Remus Lupin. That's how I knew the little one, they have the same markings."

Jean frowned and looked over at the teen, who was lying in what had once been his youngest daughter's bed. The jagged cut above his temple was nearly healed and hadn't needed any checking over. Jean had licked it clean when he'd found the boy, having been in his wolf form, and everyone knew that would be enough.

Marie was a part-time nurse at the local hospital and watched over the pack. They were, really, a pretty eclectic bunch. About half was made up of Marie and Jean's direct family, as Jean's family had run the Mercury pack since it's founding and Marie and her three sisters had been accepted immediately. Their original pack had been slaughtered by humans nearly four decades ago.

The other half were other packless wolves who had found a family, and a home, in Mercury Manor and its surrounding grounds.

"What markings?"

She shook her head and walked over. She moved the boy gently and pulled up his night shirt just enough to show a birthmark in the shape of a crescent moon, before reaching up and pulling the collar down enough to show two small markings that resembled starbursts across his collarbone.

"Those are vampire marks. He's been claimed."

"So he has." She said coolly.

He growled. "Vampire Kin, in my home! He'll have to go, now."

"Stop your yelling, you'll wake the little one up." She said, clucking at him. "He's running a fever and needs his rest."

"Are you mad? Aren't you paying attention?"

"Of course." She was tucking him back in carefully. "Vampire Kin, I know. If my history is right, he's kin to the Scottish Den. That makes him a very important cub as they don't claim outsiders lightly, so unless you want to start another war I suggest you be very nice to him."

With that she left, hips swaying just enough to let Jean know if he did a good job of watching the cub he'd be rewarded. He sighed and feeling resigned to his temporary fate sat in his chair. He picked up the book he'd brought with him and opened it.

While his wife ran into the nearby town for healing herbs in hopes of bringing the little ones fever down, he was to watch over their guest. He'd been confused at first, why would she call him, the Alpha Male, to watch over an unimportant cub when there were at least a dozen other about.

But if his father worked for the council and he carried the markings of a Vampire Den he was an important one. And it was only fitting that he, as the leader, watched over him. It came with the position and wasn't something he could avoid. With the power came responsibilities.

Some time passed and the sleeping teen didn't stir at all and he was beginning to look forward to a very peaceful time. The Pack had been graced with many cubs in the past year, so quiet was something no one had seen much of lately.

It was a change he didn't mind. Perhaps, he thought glancing over the top of his book, he would do this another time.

It was then that he noticed something. The boy, while still unconscious, looked to be in pain. His face was contorted and his was gripping the sheets around him fiercely. A low whine escaped his lips. Jean rose and walked over.

He was used to nightmares. His own mate was plagued by them to this day, images of her family being destroyed simply for daring to exist. He placed his palm on the boy's head, smiling slightly as the teen visibly relaxed under his touch. He sat on the edge of the bed and began to pet his hair, making soft growling noises in his throat.

As he suspected would happen the teen left out a soft mewing noise and curled up, now at ease. Jean started to get up, then let out a soft curse when he saw blood beginning to seep through the bandages. He couldn't believe the teen had opened his gunshot wound so easily, but there was nothing to do about it now except redress it.

He left the room to get the bandages and tape he knew his mate kept under their bed. When he came back the teen was awake and looking around with wide eyes. Fear was plain in his scent, along with pain and worry. He walked over, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. Not an easy task for a man who had to look intimidating in order to scare off any young fools that may try and challenge him for leadership, but the boy relaxed a fraction so it must have worked.

"If you don't mind me asking, what's such a young one doing so far from home? You belong in London, don't you?"

"I s'pose." The boy muttered watching him intently. He unwrapped the bandages are carefully as possible, not wanting to make things any worse, then set about rewrapping them. "You're a werewolf."

"Yes." He glanced up at the teen who tilted his head off to the side. His eyes were a smoky blue and, from what Jean could see, they were in the process of either changing from gray to blue or blue to gray. His hair was thick and long, pooling around his waist when he sat up.

It still had a few branches and twigs tangled in it. Jean plucked one out, lip curling. The boy's hair was so long it was ridiculous.

"I've never met another werewolf before, cept my Da."

"What about your pack?" Surely the boy had family, if not a proper pack at his side.

The boy spoke softly. "It's always been my Da and me…and then my father, but he died." His hands clenched in the sheets again and the pain was clear on his face.

"Losing pack is hard." Jean said, starting to stand. "For everyone. It's not right to leave your Da to mourn alone little one."

The teen didn't speak, just settled down into the covers again, staring up at the canopy above his head. "Thank you for rescuing me."

"I don't leave other wolves to die, especially not babies." He chuckled at the scowl that settled across the teen's features. "Tell me little one, do you have a proper name?"

A flash of pink as the boy licked his lips then nodded slowly. "Cerberus Lupin."

"You don't look much like a three-headed hell hound."

He didn't even bat an eye but his lips twitched. "Small packages are often the most deadly."

"And what does one as young as you know about being deadly?"

Cerberus crossed his arm over his chest and looked up at the ceiling. "I know there is someone I need to kill so I must learn to be deadly."

Jean frowned. "This person-"

"Killed my father. It's not that I want to kill her or think revenge is a good thing. My da would skin me if he knew but…I…" He trailed off looking utterly frustrated.

"You have to." Jean nodded his understand. "A pack is all a wolf has little one. To take part of that from someone, especially a little Wolfling, is an act that must be returned. It's less vengeance and more duty."

The teen sighed. He looked grateful. "Yes. It must be returned."

"However a weary Wolfling is even less useful than a wounded one so I suggest you sleep and I'll have my wife see about finding your Da-"

"No." The boy sat up. A wince graced his features for a moment then his face went cold. "You can't. I can't go home yet. Not until I'm strong enough to fight."

Jean was silent for a moment, considering that. It wasn't rare for a young wolf to strike out on their own and find their own way but something in those smoky eyes told him that Cerberus was too young for that and wanted much more than to find himself.

He wanted the strength to kill.

"As you wish."


End file.
